Will I love South Away?

Following a newbie on her first big adventure always thrills me, and Meaghan’s account of riding her bike from northern BC to Baja, Mexico, accompanied by her equally inexperienced sister, brought me back to my own bicycle travels, 30 years earlier.

What changed, and what remained the same? We shared many of the same struggles: fear of bears and bicycle breakdowns, for starters, and trusting the road to whip our bodies into shape.

Traveling with a cell phone and online access to couch surfing were luxuries I couldn’t have imagined in 1978, but clocking the miles still mightily tests body,… show more.

Meaghan’s travel memoir recounted her first long cycling journey from Terrace, British Columbia to (almost) the tip of the Baja Peninsula, a feat that reawakened my passion for endurance events. Her struggles and challenges took me back to training for a half Ironman Triathlon in my 40s and cross-country ski skate races in my 50s. Her tenacity helped me to realize how an endurance goal is great motivation to keep training, to say nothing of the fascinating people you meet along the way. So thanks to Meaghan’s South away I am now training to complete The Great Himalayan Trail in… show more.